i'm ken bastida. new at 6:00, a lot of marketers, one group spending more than anyone else. we will take a look at that and a whole lot more coming up at 6:00. >> we'll be with you. cbs evening news at 6:00. >> thanks for watching. ying the plane? investigators worry pilots are too reliant on automation. we'll talk to safety consultant sully sullenberger. the president heads to south africa and we have the story of an amazing act of kindness by one of nelson mandela's prison guards. reports from mark phillips and bill whitaker. and dr. jon lapook on a new weapon against cancer. >> they talk about cancer being a battle, that you're fighting cancer and that's exactly what it feels like. feels like. captioning sponsored by cbs captioning sponsored by cbs this this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley.

>> pelley: good evening. the government is out of the car business. late today we learned that the treasury sold off the last of its general motors shares at a loss to taxpayers of more than $10 billion. it was four years ago at the height of the great recession that president obama decided to bail out the bankrupt automaker, ordering general motors to overall its corporations and saving hundreds of thousands of jobs. now g.m. is not only making cars, but profits. here's senior business correspondent anthony mason. >> reporter: the auto industry was headed for a disastrous crash in 2009 when the government made the controversial decision to take over general motors. >> one of the first decisions that i made as president was to save the u.s. auto industry from collapse. >> reporter: taxpayers would invest $49.5 billion to keep g.m. afloat. with the sale of the last of its g.m. stock today the government's made back $39

billion-- a more than $10 billion loss, saving chrysler cost another $1.2 billion. but steve ratner, the car czar who headed the president's auto task force, said in "sunday morning" interview in 2010, it was worth it. what would have happened if we lost g.m.? >> you would have lost jobs a million jobs instantly. it would have been an economic disaster. >> reporter: in all of its bailouts to wall street and detroit, the government has recovered $432.7 billion after paying out $421.8 billion-- a profit for taxpayers of nearly $11 billion. a study by the center for automotive research out today found that if g.m. had failed, it would have cost $1.9 million jobs and more than $39 billion in tax revenue. >> pelley: but anthony, you have to wonder, if the government had waited, would taxpayers have lost less?

would the stock have gone up? >> reporter: the stock is at its high of the year, scott, that's one thing to consider. the other major reason the government did this is they made a pledge earlier this year they intended to be out of general motors by the beginning of next year. >> pelley: and so they are. anthony, thanks very much. there is more snow coming to places still recovering from that weekend storm. at least 14 people have been killed. on interstate 81 in maryland, traffic got tangled in the snow today. more than 1,600 flights were canceled. 32,000 homes and businesses are without power tonight. the next round of snow will stretch from the appalachians to new england. here's jeff pegues. >> reporter: across the east coast today, the storm moved out and the utility companies marched in. carl neddenien is with dominion power in richmond, virginia. >> the tree limbs that have been weighted down with ice are springing back up. this is causing power outages in addition to the ones that have already been repaired. >> reporter: at the height of the storm, hundreds of thousands

of people were without power, including 122,000 customer in virginia, 30,000 in maryland, and 36,000 in pennsylvania. in yonkers, new york, ice- covered roads led to this 24-car pileup that sent 21 people to the hospital. sorting through this tangled mess was tow truck driver jim cavagnaro. >> it looked like a scene out of "the terminator" movies. the only thing missing was fire and robots. >> reporter: 763 flights were canceled in and out of dallas fort worth. 257 at chicago's o'hare aeurt and 192 in philadelphia. the forecast is for another blast to hit the mid-atlantic tuesday bringing with it several more inches of snow. the commute home tonight at least in d.c. is expected to be relatively uneventful but, scott, tomorrow morning's commute in the region could be a problem and could cause public works crews to lose sleep. two to four inches of snow is in the forecast.

>> pelley: jeff pegues in washington, d.c jeff, thank you very much. president obama is on his way to south africa for tomorrow's memorial for nelson mandela. also aboard air force one are the first lady, former president george w. bush and his wife and former secretary of state hillary clinton. former presidents clinton and carter are traveling separately. mark phillips is in johannesburg. >> reporter: when the life being remembered is nelson mandela's life, even the family dances as it mourns. this is the oldest grandson and now, as oldest male, head of the mandela clan. he could only move through the crowd of dancers by joining them. he was meeting up with the rest of the family at the mandela home. they had gathered to go together to a last private viewing of the body, still being held in a military morgue, before the mandela farewell becomes a grand event. as many as 100 world leaders

have said they'll attend the first and largest event of the week-long commemoration. the memorial service expected to fill the national soccer stadium. with much of the world's ruling class on hand, along with president obama, security is a huge concern and police have already been deployed. but the tributes have already started. former archbishop desmond tutu-- another of the great antiapartheid heroes-- recalled a trip to the u.s. during the liberation struggle to enlist support. >> i was in san francisco and this lady rushed up to me and she said "hello archbishop mandela." (laughter) >> reporter: but it's the real mandela and what he did that this is all about. >> instead of being consumed by hate and a lust for revenge

emerging as a stalwart for reconciliation, magnanimity and forgiveness. >> reporter: scott, the list of speakers at tomorrow's service promises to be long, diverse, and unique. only nelson mandela could get the president of the united states and the president of cuba speaking from the same platform at the same event. >> pelley: we'll look for your coverage here and on cbs "this morning" tomorrow, mark. thanks very much. the service begins at 4:00 a.m. eastern time and cbs news will air portions of it live, including president obama's remarks. today the white house warned the senate not to vote for new economic sanctions on iran fearing more sanctions could unravel the nuclear deal the administration worked out last month. iran agreed to freeze its uranium enrichment for six months in return for an easing of sanctions but there are opponents to that idea in the senate and elsewhere. elizabeth palmer is in tehran for us. liz?

>> reporter: iran's new reformist government defied hard-liners at home and pushed hard for this geneva agreement against a lot of domestic resistance and now they're afraid that the u.s. senate is going to introduce these new sanctions. majid ravanchi was one of the negotiators and he told that iran was counting on the u.s. and iran to adhere to the geneva agreement to try and repair what has been more than three decades of really toxic relations. >> we do not trust what the american government does and it is natural the same feeling is there in america. what is important for the time being is we are entering into a new phase. >> reporter: in fact, iran says it has already started upholding its new commitments by allowing international inspectors back into one of the most controversial nuclear sites at a

place called araq. so what will happen, i asked him, if the u.s. senate does go ahead and approve even more sanctions. >> i think we will be in trouble. >> pelley: so, liz, what does ravanchi mean by that? >> he means the deal would be off. they agreed in geneva no new sanctions for six months and if it can't uphold its end of the bargain than iran doesn't feel bound by what it promised in geneva, either. >> pelley: we'll keep following up. liz, thank you very much. now, this is a story you're going to be hearing more about tomorrow. the national transportation safety board will be opening hearings into whether airline pilots are being lulled into crashes by cockpit computers. in july, an asiana 777 crash landed short of the runway in san francisco. three people were killed. the safety board is looking into whether the crew was relying on a computer to manage air speed when, in reality, that automatic system disengaged. former u.s. airways captain

chesley sullenberger is best known for making a safe emergency landing in the hudson river. he's now a cbs news aviation and safety consultant. sully, i imagine a lot of folks at home are wondering what's going on in the cockpit these days. is the pilot just sitting back and letting the computer fly the plane even in landing? >> scott, the pilots are using the technology appropriately and they're using it as a tool to help them fly the airplane. but the pilot must always be mentally engaged and aware and flying the airplane with their mind they're using technology to move the controls. they have to have the deep understanding of how the system works and be the absolute master of the airplane and all its systems, especially technology. and then have the confidence and skill to intervene quickly and effectively if they need to. >> pelley: is this asiana investigation likely to be important in studying the problems that are inherent between the pilots and the computers? >> absolutely.

i think this is going to be a seminal act that will be studied for years. it's important that the pilots have the skills to monitor each other and the automation and when it's not doing what it should, having the skill and the confidence to intervene and fly the airplane manually and fly it well. >> pelley: a whole new world in the cockpit. chesley sullenberger, thank you for being with us. >> thank you, scott. >> pelley: this evening, the senate voted to renew the ban on plastic guns-- the kind that can evade airport metal detectors. the ban was due to expire tonight. the house passed the bill already, the president is expected to sign it. today, some of the biggest tech companies said government surveillance is undermining american freedom. usually fierce competitors, they share the same dislike of government snooping and bob orr has a look. >> reporter: arguing that privacy rights are being trampled by national security, eight major u.s. tech companies today told the government to back off. in an open letter to the

president and congress, google, yahoo!, facebook and others said massive surveillance undermines the freedoms we all cherish. it's time for a change. facebook founder mark zuckerberg, who spoke at a september 10 conference, is leading the call for more government restraint. >> it's our government's job to protect all of us and also to protect our freedoms and protect the economy and companies and i think that they did a bad job of balancing those things here. >> reporter: the companies argue the national security agency is going too far in the bulk collection of phone and internet data. dnformation from classified documents leaked by edward snowden suggest the n.s.a. is stealing communications from internet providers by tapping into cables connecting the servers in overseas data centers. in today's letter, the tech firm said they are now tightening internal cyber security. "we are focused on keeping users' data secure, deploying the latest encryption technology to prevent unauthorized

surveillance." the tech firms are also fighting back against surveillance which is authorized. internet companies say courts too often are compelling them turn over potentially sensitive customer data. now, the u.s.-based firms are worried that all of this is bad for business. scott, the yahoo! chief in fact says massive government snooping has shaken the trust of users. >> pelley: bad for business, good for p.r. bob orr in our washington newsroom. thank you, bob. a top university took action today to stop an outbreak of meningitis. a new cancer treatment uses a patient's own cells to attack the disease. and vietnam vets salute the piano man when the "cbs evening news" continues. [ female announcer ] you get sick, you can't breathe through your nose... suddenly you're a mouth breather. a mouth breather!

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leukemia, or c.l.l., for 14 years. by 2010, after four rounds of chemotherapy, his only option seemed to be a bone marrow transplant with a 50% chance of success. >> it's standing on the edge of a cliff with a parachute that may or may not open. >> reporter: that's when he became patient number three in a gene therapy experiment designed to manipulate his immune system. >> i didn't hesitate for a second. they talk about cancer being a battle. you're fighting cancer. and that's what it feels like. >> reporter: the weapon is drawn from a patient's own body. doctors at the university of pennsylvania remove t-cells, white blood cells that help fight infections. the cells are genetically modified to recognize and attack cancer cells. oncologist dr. david porter is parts of the team overseeing the therapy. >> the-cell can grow and divide and we've seen for every t-cell that we modify and put into a patient's body it that has

ability to kill up to 93,000 leukemia cells. >> reporter: in olson's case, it took just three weeks to work. >> dr. porter said "hot off the press, we can't find any c.l.l. in your blood at all." >> what was that like for you? >> it was amazing. you can imagine only a few weeks before -- you know, you're -- you're not so sure you have a future. >> reporter: 59 patients were treated for two types of leukemia. 15 of 32 adults with c.l.l. have responded to the therapy and seven have no evidence of leukemia. in the second type of leukemia, a.l.l., the patients were mostly children and the results were even more dramatic. no detectable cancerous cells in 24 of 27 treated patients. >> the fact that these cells can survive for so long and continue to be biologically active really is quite remarkable to all of us. >> reporter: more than three years later, olson is still in complete remission and the modified t-cells are still circulating.

the hope is to use the same technique to make other types of cancer cells more visible to the body's immune system. in the next few months, doctors will start using the sophisticated immunotherapy in patients with non-hodgkin's lymphoma. >> pelley: impressive. thank you, doctor. we'll be right back. pelley: impre than doctor. be right [ male announcer ] share what you love, with who you love. kellogg's frosted flakes. they're grrreat! shhhh! shhhh. [ coughs ] i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] nope. [ sniffles ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast acting antihistamine to relieve your runny nose. oh, what a relief it is! [ man ] shhhh! for fast cold and flu relief, day or night,

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"science", the water could have been drinkable, not too salty, not too acidic and it could have supported life but the lake most likely dried up three and a half billion years ago. from the planets to the stars. five of the brightest received kennedy center honors last night. singer billy joel, opera star martina arroyo, musician herbie hancock, actress shirley maclaine, and musician carlos santana. garth brooks and a group of vietnam vets brought the audience-- including the president-- to their feet singing joel's "good night saigon." ♪ we all go down together the kennedy center honors will air on cbs as always on december 29. nelson mandela said what he missed most in prison was the sound of the laughter of children. in a moment, the guard who gave mandela a priceless gift.

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during mandela's stay there on robben island northwest of cape town. a conversion and an unlikely friendship. from south africa, here's bill whitaker. >> reporter: if you've ever wondered how nelson mandela changed a nation, afrikaner christo brandt might have the answer. >> @d1was like a father to me. >> reporter: growing up, he never questioned the oppression of apartheid. at 18, he was a guard at robben island, the harsh prison where mandela spent 18 of his 27 years behind bars. he was told he'd be guarding the worst of the worst. >> reporter: but he came to know mandela as a kindly gentleman, the prison peacemaker. for years he was assigned to oversea the few family visits mandela was permitted. one day his wife winnie came with their new granddaughter. babies were forbidden on robben island.

putting his job on the line, brandt smuggle it had baby in wrapped in a blanket and put her in the arms of her grandfather. arms randfather >> he p and e an im baby and take t bab , he ad rs i is yes, you e t e quite emotional at that moment. >> reporter: a friendship was born. when mandela became president he gave brandt a job at the capital. when brandt's son was killed in a car accident, mandela was the first to phone him. the same transformation happened to rory steyn. he was a cup afrikaner cop who enforced apartheid's tough laws. yet president mandela tapped them to lead his security detail. >> and who was i, bill? i was just a dispensable white cop. if there was an issue and there were any doubts, just get of him, move him on, there's a whole queue of guys who will come and take their position. and he chose not to do that. go figure.

>> reporter: the prisoner he once despised became the president he admired. steyn says mandela's politics of forgiveness and healing lifted up the country many feared would fall into racial war. >> we could have been down the road of syria or afghanistan by now and we're not and we have him to thank for that. >> reporter: when he heard of mandela's death, the tough cop cried. >> the first emotion, a profound sense of loss and sadness. >> reporter: just like many south africans this week-- crying for man who changed the nation. bill whitaker, cbs news, johannesburg. >> pelley: tomorrow, be sure to catch our coverage of the mandela memorial on cbs "this morning." that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioning sponsor captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

history. good evening, i'm juliette goodrich in for elizabeth co this is your chance to own a piece of candle stick history. i am juliette goodrich in for elizabeth cook. >> i am ken bastida. our phil matier shows us what is up for grabs from the hallowed ground at candle stick park. phil. >> reporter: that's right. the answer is just about anything. but they are going to start something very close to the fans. take a look. >> looking to buy that special football fan something more than a shirt, coat, or hat. or maybe you just want something unique for yourself. whatever the case, the 49ers and the city of san francisco have something special for you, but it isn't cheap. >> 49er faithful, it's your turn to own a piece of candle stick history. now, you can purchase a pair of authentic candle stick park seats. >> the price, $649 a pair.

but that's just for the next 30 days. after that, the price goes up to $749 a pair. but whatever the price, the proceeds benefit the recreation and park scholarship fund. judging from the presales to season ticket holders who got the chance to buy their own long-time seats, there seems to be quite a market. >> we have sold several thousand pairs already. >> it is all part of the effort to get as much as possible out of the stadium before it gets torn down next year. >> we are also looking at some other memorabilia, signage, pieces of the goal post. >> can you get joe montana's locker? >> i don't know. but we're looking into whether or not lockers will be part of the memorabilia, too. >> they wanted to sell the grass itself. does that work? >> a couple cities have tried that. it is hard to keep it alive. >> seems like an interesting idea. i'm just not sure the view from e